Complicated
by ladyvamp
Summary: A new girl in the lives of the Scoobies forces Buffy to evaluate her feelings for Spike while trying to prevent the next apocalypse. B/S with other show pairings. Post-Wrecked
1. Shaky Start

1 Complicated  
  
Disclaimer – If I owned the characters, then the show would probably be very similar to this story, don't ya think? And since it's definitely NOT going in this direction, it's safe to assume that I don't own them. Alas, they belong to the genius that is Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.  
  
Rating – PG-13 for language and violence? I dunno. (For now at least, it will probably go up in later chapters, depending on where my imagination takes  
  
me = )  
  
A/N – This has been floating around in my head for awhile and I finally decided to put it down on paper. I have a lot of the main ideas already, but if you have any plot suggestions or reviews/flames (I don't care about criticism) please feel free to leave a review or email me at lady_vamp47@hotmail.com. It's post – 'Wrecked', but after that it goes in my own direction and doesn't follow what's happening on the show. Anything that happens in the story I came up with awhile ago, I didn't steal anything from the show after 'Wrecked'. The story is kind of in episode format and is major B/S. There might be some small inconsistencies, but please just look over them, because they're necessary for my plot.  
  
Dedication: This is to thank my awesome beta'ers and inspiration. Filly, Beth, Fitz, Kristen, and Katie, you guys keep me going! This is for you!!  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: Shaky Start  
  
  
  
The Scooby Gang was exhausted and they were getting nowhere fast. It was a Saturday afternoon and they had been researching in the magic shop for hours. Finally Xander slammed his book shut out of sheer frustration. Buffy and Anya looked up at him in sleepy surprise.  
  
"Face it," he said. "There is nothing about this Frost Demony thing in these books."  
  
"I agree," answered Anya. "I'm tired of looking for something that doesn't exist!"  
  
She got up and started pacing around the store, running her fingers over the spines of her books. She was upset that they had to close the store so they could research. No money ever came from research. At that thought, she turned and confronted Buffy. "Can't we call Giles?" Buffy started, unwilling to admit defeat. She jumped out of her seat and slammed her fists on the table, causing both Xander and Anya to give her their full attention.  
  
"No! We don't need to call Giles. We'll find something soon."  
  
The group looked around helplessly, trying to think of another option. It felt like they had searched through every single book in the shop with no luck. Ever since some sort of… something had frozen the security guard at the Sunnydale Museum and stolen a large diamond, they had devoted most of their time to it; or at least some of their time. Although Xander and Anya were preoccupied with wedding plans, they noticed that Buffy and Willow weren't exactly giving it their all either. They knew that Willow had the whole magical kablewy/Tara's gone issue to deal with, but they weren't completely sure what was wrong with Buffy. They assumed that she was still getting over her heavenly experience. Xander was the first to speak.  
  
"What we need is a new research venue. Any chance Will is up for some computer work? We might be able to find something on the internet."  
  
The second he saw Buffy, he knew it had been the wrong thing to ask. She looked lost and forlorn. It was obvious that she had no idea what to do about her best friend's problem.  
  
"I don't think Willow's gonna be able to do anything to help right now. She's still doing really badly. She's practically bed-ridden."  
  
Xander and Anya looked at Buffy in concern, but it was Anya who voiced what they were both thinking. "So she's still got the shakes since she gave up magic, huh?"  
  
Buffy gave her a less than pleased look. "She's just – " Buffy stopped suddenly as Willow stumbled into the room.  
  
"Will!" Xander shouted to cover the awkward silence. "How ya' feelin'?"  
  
Willow made her way to the table, plopped down in a chair and started leafing through some of the books. "Better. Good, in fact. Ready to help with some good old research." Willow's words were cheerful, but her friends couldn't help noticing as she tried to control a shaking arm. Buffy was hesitant, but she decided to act as if everything was normal.  
  
"Well, we could use some help searching the 'net for this demon we're after." Willow perked up at the prospect of being included. She hadn't felt very helpful since she had given up magic and didn't want her friends to view her as the useless, sick girl.  
  
"Alrighty then. I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something in just a few minutes. " Willow walked shakily over to the table to pick up her laptop. As she turned to rejoin the group on the other side of the room, she started to convulse violently, and both she and her computer fell to the floor with a sickening thud.  
  
  
  
After the gang had tucked Willow into bed they walked downstairs to the living room of the Summers' home. Willow had woken up, but was babbling incoherently about monkeys without pants.  
  
"So Willow is obviously still out of commission," commented Xander as they sat dejectedly on the couch. Anya snorted.  
  
"She's talking crazy. There's no way she could help us when she's like that. I mean – " Buffy's interjection stopped the stream of chatter.  
  
"Anya! Thanks. We know." Anya let her eyes fall to the floor. No one ever took her seriously.  
  
After giving a reassuring look to his hurt bride-to-be, Xander continued his thoughts. "I'm still thinking the internet should be our next step. And since I, the lowly construction worker, and my beautiful fiancée, the 1000 year-old ex-demon, are not exactly computer literate, I vote that our fearless leader take responsibility." Buffy shot Xander a venomous look, but resignedly sat down in front of the laptop, knowing he was right. Luckily, they had had the foresight to bring it with them when they left the magic shop. However, as Buffy opened it, she was met with a shower of sparks and a very cracked screen.  
  
"Oh man," she said. "This is not good." None of the three know how to fix the hardware of a computer, or even where to go to get it fixed. Buffy turned to her friends. "Any more ideas?"  
  
They sat back down to try to come up with another option of demon-research. They were each grasping at straws until Anya smacked herself on the forehead as a seemingly obvious thought struck her. "How about the library? They allow you to look up all kinds of things on their computers. It's very nice."  
  
"Not a bad idea, An," Xander complimented his beaming fiancée. Buffy didn't look so excited though. "There's just two problems with that. First of all, libraries don't look too kindly on me since I burned the down the school. I'm kind of shunned. Second, what if someone walked up while I was searching? How would I explain that? 'Oh, just looking up demons with freezing powers for a school project.' Kinda suspicious."  
  
Xander and Anya looked lost for words, until Xander threw his hands up and said, "Well then I'm tapped out. Maybe the Dawnster will be able to think of something… Hey, where is Dawn?"  
  
"I let her go to a friend's house," Buffy told him distractedly. Xander looked concerned, and cautiously asked, "Is that wise, I mean, after what happened on Halloween?"  
  
Buffy's head snapped up at the questioning of her parenting abilities. "This is another friend. I talked to both her and her mom before I let Dawn go. She's a year or two older than Dawn, sounded really responsible. They're just hanging out for a little while. I figured she could use a little fun time after all she's been through. After all, what could a 15 year-old kid in a cast really do?"  
  
Xander nodded in agreement, not wanting to anger the Slayer any more, but Anya piped up with her own questions. "Who is this new friend? What's her name?"  
  
"It's… um… oh jeez, I don't remember," Buffy answered. "It started with an 'F' or something." She looked worried, so they quickly dropped it.  
  
Suddenly, they heard Willow cry out from upstairs. "You guys go," said Buffy. "I'll take care of Willow, you don't need to stick around." Xander and Anya stood to leave. As they got to the door, Xander turned back. "You wanna have dinner together later? We can order in." Buffy smiled at the small, but meaningful gesture. "Sure."  
  
"Ok, well, call us if you need anything," he told Buffy. "I'll be fine," she said with a motion toward the door. "Go ahead." They shut the door and Buffy walked forlornly up the stairs. 


	2. Breaking and Entering

For all disclaimers, etc., see Chapter One  
  
  
  
Chapter 2: Breaking and Entering  
  
  
  
That evening, Buffy, Xander, Anya, and Dawn were sitting around the table finishing off some Chinese delivery. Willow had slept all day and didn't seem to be quite with it. Not wanting to worry her, they had told Dawn that she wasn't feeling well. She quickly accepted the fib and began regaling her makeshift family with stories of her new friend.  
  
"She is sooo cool. You have to meet her. We hung out in her room, it's totally huge, and she has all this technological stuff and she showed me how to install a music-download program on her computer, and we listened to this awesome CD she made, and she knows how to play the guitar and she has the cutest dog!"  
  
She stopped to take a breath and Buffy took the opportunity to jump in. "Sounds like someone we could use right about now," she muttered quietly. Xander nodded. "What did you say?" asked Dawn. She worried that she was making Buffy feel inadequate by talking about her friend's great life. "Oh, nothing." answered Buffy, and Dawn began prattling on about the cool blow-up furniture she had seen.  
  
The gang was so distracted they didn't even think to ask the girl's name. "What's with you guys tonight? You're so… detached," observed Dawn. Once again, the unimportant teenager was being ignored. Jeez, she couldn't even tell a story at dinner. Nobody cared. Maybe she'd tell Spike later.  
  
"We're just trying to work through a little problem," Buffy told her. Xander jumped in. "Maybe you can help us Dawnie. They explained the situation, leaving out any disturbing parts about Willow. "We suggested the library, but Buffy pointed out that the people there wouldn't exactly welcome her, and she wouldn't really have free reign," Xander finished.  
  
Dawn looked thoughtful. "Why don't you just go after hours?" she quickly offered. She immediately regretted it though, as Buffy looked appalled.  
  
"Dawn Summers! I can't believe you would suggest such a thing! Go to your room and think about what you just said!" Dawn immediately got defensive. They were treating her like a child again! "Jeez, sorry, I was just trying to be helpful. You did ask for my help, right?" With that, she stormed up the stairs and they heard a door close.  
  
"Buffy, don't you think that was a little harsh?" Xander asked. He knew that Buffy wanted to take care of Dawn, but she had just tried to make a suggestion. Buffy looked amused. "Honestly, I just sent her up there because I didn't want her to know I thought it was a good idea. The last thing she needs is juvenile delinquent encouragement. But it's our best option right now."  
  
"Whatever you say, Buff," Xander replied with a chuckle. "But do you think it will be safe? You don't make a habit of breaking into places, none of us do. As much as I hate to say this, I think Spike might be helpful to bring along on this one. He has experience with this kinda stuff, being evil and all."  
  
Buffy tried hard not to freak out. The very name sent shivers up her spine, but she didn't have time to analyze whether or not it was a good shiver. She just knew that she didn't want to see him right now. "SPIKE?!? No! We don't need Spike. Why would we need Spike?!"  
  
Xander and Anya looked surprised. Anya, who had been quiet through the whole ordeal until now, pointed out the obvious truth, as she so frequently did. "Well, do you plan on disarming the security system yourself? Spike used to do bad stuff all the time. He'll know what to do."  
  
As much as he didn't want to disagree with Buffy, Xander knew he had to. "Anya's right Buffy. The Peroxide King has benefits this time." Buffy looked pleadingly from one to the other. She finally gave in to the logic of it.  
  
"Oh fine. I'll go ask him. We can go tomorrow night."  
  
  
  
A/N – These first two chapters were just kind of introductions to the story, giving some background info on where everyone stands. The real plot comes in in the next chapter. The chapters are going to start getting longer too. 


End file.
